Making daily experiments and sharing it with the world. Done a 365-day challenge. www.johanr.com

Oct 12, 2016

Out of ideas?

#72 Begin with James Altucher’s 10 ideas a day habit

Stop for a moment and think about the people around you. Do you think they have better ideas than you? Maybe they have, maybe not. But the important question is, how can you improve your ideas?

There’re a few people who seems to be born as idea machines. If we in the majority want to get the same skill, then we need to do something about it. The only way is to practice.

Lately, I’ve learned and read more about James Altucher. There’s a lot of substance to get out of his work. Yesterday I saw his TED-talk, and today I began something he talked about.

How to become an idea machine

In his TED-talk, he talks about how he became an idea machine, which changed his life forever. He began a practice of writing down 10 ideas each day.

My First 10 ideas

What type of ideas you want to create are up to you. It depends on circumstances and much more.

At the commuting into work today, I decided to begin this habit. I wrote the following on my iPhone:

10 ideas for how I can improve this day:

1. Ask people more why’s.

2. Keep eye contact longer

3. Write during the commute.

4. Call a friend.

5. Eat the right type of food.

6. Have a growth mindset during work.

7.Give without expecting something back.

8: Meditate for 20 minutes.

9. Take a walk.

10: Read a book at Blinkist

When I did the practice I wrote down whatever came to my mind. Once a thought appeared I wrote it down. After 2–3 minutes today’s practice got done.

The power of ideas

When you start to learn something you will experience ups and downs. Sometimes you will come up with ideas in seconds, and other times it will be difficult. Yet, for the people who endure will most likely gain great benefits.

How you decide to use all these ideas is up to you. Within a year you will have 3650 different ideas. Powerful.

You can let the ideas remain ideas, or you can decide to make something out of them. You can either choose to execute on them yourself. Or you can share the ideas with people.

The power of habits

Once we decide to do something for a long period of time, something incredible happens. We begin to change in our core. And with the right habits, our foundation gets stronger.

I wonder where a habit like this will take me. What type of new ideas which will appear, and how many of them I will share or execute on. The future will tell.

In order to make sure I write down 10 ideas each day I will write it during my commuting time. I’m excited about it.

Conclusion

Some years ago I learned about growth mindset. Since then my life has never been the same. With the right mindset, practice and going through hardship I can see how my brain develops. It’s incredible how far you can take yourself once you believe in the process. One step at a time type of mindset.

It’s fascinating how much hardship and dedication change you as a person. Once you set your mind to something, and you go through it. You will see yourself grow into someone stronger.